HYPERICUM. St. John’s wort. A large, widespread and extremely variable group. Their common features include simple, neatly paired leaves and yellow blossoms with showy central brushes of stamens. The following thrive with sun or light shade, most soils, and moderate watering. All are likely hardy to 10oF or less.
empetrifolium nanum. Southeastern Europe, Western Asia. A low mat with deep green, heath-like leaves, admirably suited for the rock garden. It produces an abundance of 1/2" golden yellow blossoms throughout the summer months.
x inodorum ‘Albury Purple’. A bushy, round shrub, growing 3-5’ tall. Its big attraction is the spectacular reddish purple 3-4” leaves which closely line the stems. The flowers are disappointingly small—not actually a drawback, since this avoids a somewhat clashing combination of colors. It is nearly evergreen in our climate.
kelleri. Crete. In this form, an absolutely flat mat with thread-like stems and tiny, pale green leaves. It is decorated in summer by starlike blossoms only about 1/2" across. This is a perfect little plant for lining stone paths or covering the ground in container plantings.
olympicum. In its typical form, this is a shrublet up to 15" high, with small shiny leaves and clusters of relatively large, bright yellow flowers, borne at the shoot tips in summer. Assuming the current selection is properly named (which seems doubtful), it is a completely prostrate variant of the species, with otherwise similar features.
reptans. Western China. Another tidy carpet, though of more substantial scale than the last. It is capable of spreading 3’ or more over time, rooting as it travels. The slender stems are closely lined with 1/2" light green leaves and tipped in spring and summer by striking yellow blossoms, measuring nearly 2" across.